Breast Density Litigation

Mammography misses cancer in over 50% of women. Why aren’t these facts reported to women and what else can be done?

A mammogram is nothing more than an X-Ray of the breast. When the xray was invented, it was a great tool. But recent scientific studies have proven that mammograms are of no value for nearly half of the female population. Other tests are now available that are better than mammograms. Over the last several decades we have witnessed the invention of the ultrasound and the MRI. Multiple studies have shown that ultrasounds and MRIs are superior to mammograms in detecting cancer for women with dense breasts.

The Problem: The images above demonstrate what cancer looks like on a mammogram for some women. The tumor, which displays as white, is clearly visible against the darker background of non-dense breast tissue. The problem is that nearly half the current population has “dense breast tissue”. And dense breasts also appears as white on mammograms. This “white on white” completely camouflages breast cancer in a dense breast. It’s akin to trying to see a snowball in a snowdrift. Without any contrasting color, you just can’t see what your looking for. This is why cancer is routinely missed by mammography in a dense breast, and doctors mistakenly report the exam as “normal” when it’s not.

The Solution: Ultrasounds and MRIs are now widely available and are able to find all of the cancers that mammograms miss. These newer tests are able to “see through” the density of the breast tissue and are being used to save the lives of “the other half” of the female population who have dense breasts

We are proud to support the efforts of Are You Dense, Inc. and Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc., two non-profit organizations dedicated to raising awareness of breast density who are fighting for State and Federal legislation to require the inclusion of “density” information in the letter women receive about mammogram results.

We also handle a variety of other cases involving the delay in diagnosis of including breast cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer.